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Highest-rated Southern restaurants in Tampa by diners

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Mohamed-Kareem Mohamed // Shutterstock
Mohamed-Kareem Mohamed // Shutterstock
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When you travel below the Mason-Dixon Line, you'll find some of the most mouthwatering, comforting cuisine in the U.S.: Southern food.

Southern dishes are a vital part of American cuisine, from hushpuppies to ham hocks and beignets to barbecue. It's impossible to define a classic Southern meal, but a solid one starts with the sharp savory flavor of pimento cheese dip, followed by the delicious crunchiness of fried chicken or a spicy Louisiana étouffée, culminating with a sugary slice of chess pie that's best washed down with a tall glass of sweet tea.

What's unique about Southern fare is that multiple ethnic and cultural groups have influenced it. Spanish staples, such as potatoes and cocoa, are in many Southern dishes; the Acadians, who traveled to Louisiana from Nova Scotia and later became Louisiana Creoles, contributed their seafood to many Southern meals; African ingredients—okra, sorghum (an ancient grain), and black-eyed peas—became a part of the cuisine through the forced labor of enslaved people; French cooking methods, like braising and sautéing, are used for many Southern recipes; and Native Americans introduced corn to Southern recipes, yielding dishes like succotash and grits.

The Southern culinary scene is an explosion of cultures. To find out where you can sample some Southern offerings, Stacker compiled a list of the highest-rated Southern restaurants in the Tampa area using data from Yelp as of May 2, 2025. Businesses were selected using Yelp's ranking system, which calculates an adjusted rating value that takes into account the number of ratings as well as the rating score itself. Only restaurants with at least 20 reviews tagged as "southern" on Yelp within a 10-kilometer radius of Tampa were included. As a result, some restaurants featured may serve other food items.

Read on to find the perfect spot to get a taste of the South near you.

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#15. Lepley's Kitchen Lounge

- Rating: 3.3/5 (117 reviews)
- Address: 6310 North Florida Ave. Tampa, Florida
- Categories: Southern, Sports Bars, Caribbean
- Read more on Yelp

2 / 15

#14. Hank's Catfish & BBQ

- Rating: 3.6/5 (293 reviews)
- Price level: $$
- Address: 8546 North Dale Mabry Hwy Tampa, Florida
- Categories: Southern, Barbecue
- Read more on Yelp

3 / 15

#13. Avenue Blu

- Rating: 3.6/5 (26 reviews)
- Address: 122 South Howard Ave. Tampa Bay, Florida
- Categories: Southern, Caribbean
- Read more on Yelp

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#12. 4 Rivers Smokehouse

- Rating: 3.7/5 (440 reviews)
- Price level: $$
- Address: 623 South Macdill Ave. Tampa Bay, Florida
- Categories: Barbecue, Smokehouse, Southern
- Read more on Yelp

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#10. Florida Cracker Fish Company

- Rating: 3.8/5 (197 reviews)
- Price level: $$
- Address: 7604 Ehrlich Road Tampa, Florida
- Categories: Seafood, Southern, Whiskey Bars
- Read more on Yelp

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#9. 4 Rivers Smokehouse

- Rating: 3.9/5 (689 reviews)
- Price level: $$
- Address: 14330 North Dale Mabry Hwy Tampa, Florida
- Categories: Barbecue, Smokehouse, Southern
- Read more on Yelp

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#8. Steelbach

- Rating: 4.1/5 (1166 reviews)
- Price level: $$$
- Address: 1902 North Ola Ave. Tampa, Florida
- Categories: New American, Steakhouses, Southern
- Read more on Yelp

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#7. 7th + Grove

- Rating: 4.2/5 (648 reviews)
- Price level: $$
- Address: 1930 East 7th Ave. Tampa, Florida
- Categories: Southern, Lounges, Breakfast & Brunch
- Read more on Yelp

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#5. Mr B's Cafe Southern Cuisine

- Rating: 4.3/5 (165 reviews)
- Price level: $$
- Address: 3401 North Nebraska Ave. Tampa, Florida
- Categories: Soul Food, Southern, Cafes
- Read more on Yelp

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#4. M&R Cafe Southern Cuisine With Flavor

- Rating: 4.3/5 (26 reviews)
- Address: 3320 East Osborne Ave. Tampa, Florida
- Categories: Southern, Breakfast & Brunch
- Read more on Yelp

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#3. Al's Finger Licking Good Bar-B-Que

- Rating: 4.6/5 (503 reviews)
- Price level: $$
- Address: 1609 Angel Oliva Sr St. Tampa, Florida
- Categories: Barbecue, Southern, American
- Read more on Yelp

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#2. Mangos Cafe And Specialty store

- Rating: 4.7/5 (129 reviews)
- Price level: $$
- Address: 9718 North 56th St. Temple Terrace, Florida
- Categories: Caribbean, Southern, Vegan
- Read more on Yelp

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